Start Your Airbnb Business in the UK

Build an Airbnb business in the UK with Houst

The UK is the largest short let market Houst operates in and the one with the most established professional operators. Whether you want to co-host, buy into a franchise or take properties on rent to rent, the same things stall most people: finding owners, pricing well and running guest operations at scale. As a Houst partner you get the training, the software and the owner leads, and you keep a share of every booking you manage.

Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in United Kingdom with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Image of Houst property management software dashboard notification for a new clean request in United Kingdom for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in United Kingdom with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Image of Houst property management software dashboard notification for a receipt of new payment in United Kingdom for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in United Kingdom with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Our partnership track-record:

24 homes

Average portfolio after year one

1-2 months

Time to first earnings

50/50

Revenue split on every booking

24 homes

The average amount of properties after 1 year in business.

20%

The average commission on each guest booking

1-2 months

The average time it takes our partners to start earning.

Who can become a partner?

From solo co-hosts to franchise operators, there is a route in whatever stage you are at.

Start co-hosting in the UK without owning property

You want to run short lets for other people but do not own property yourself. Co-hosting is the lowest cost way in and it is how most partners start. Airbnb's own co-host network wants a track record before it will list you publicly, which is hard to build from zero. We train you on pricing, listings, guest management and compliance, then pass you owner leads in your territory so the first properties come from us.

Already letting one or two places

You let your own property, or you look after one for an owner, and you know what the compliance side involves. Growing past two or three units usually breaks the setup, because cleaning, linen, guest communication and out of hours cover stop fitting around everything else. Partnering gives you the systems and the support team to take on more without hiring first.

Add short let management to your agency

You run a lettings or property business and your landlords keep asking about short lets. Offering it properly means new pricing, different compliance, a guest operation and cover outside office hours. We supply the platform, the training and the brand so you can serve those owners on a system that already operates across 27 cities rather than building one.

Run an Airbnb franchise in the UK

You want a territory and a real business rather than a handful of units. Most franchise opportunities in this sector sell you a brand and a territory and leave you to build the operation yourself. We give you the operating model, the technology and the owner pipeline, so you are running a short let franchise on infrastructure that already works.

Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
A dashboard screenshot image of an Airbnb business in United Kingdom showcasing upcoming booking details, including check-in dates, booking revenue, and guest profiles to optimize short-let property management and running an Airbnb business in United Kingdom.

Who finds the properties

This is the question every applicant asks. Houst already generates owner enquiries across the UK through search, referrals and paid channels, and those leads go to the partner covering that area. You are not starting with an empty pipeline. You will still win properties locally, through agents, developers and word of mouth, but the first ones normally come from us.

Why the UK works for short let operators

The UK carries a deep and varied short let market. City demand runs on business travel, events and weekend leisure, and holds through the year rather than peaking for a season. Coastal and rural demand runs the opposite way, concentrated and high value across summer. An operator can build a portfolio across both patterns and smooth the year out.

Houst operates in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Belfast, Cambridge, Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. Fourteen markets, each with its own demand shape and its own owner base.

Regulation is devolved and locally varied. Scotland runs a short-term let licensing regime, with Edinburgh operating as a control area covering the whole city. Wales has dedicated short-term let planning use classes. London caps entire-home lets at 90 nights a year. On top of that, individual councils apply their own planning positions and licensing conditions. There is no single UK rulebook, which is why knowing the position in your territory matters. We cover it with partners during training.

Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Get started with Houst's property management platform to supercharge your property business, featuring an intuitive booking calendar for streamlined Airbnb operations.

We only get rewarded when you do well

Total entry cost is £10,000 plus VAT. You pay a £2,500 deposit at signing and a £2,500 set-up fee, then £500 a month across your first ten months. Bookings split 50/50 from day one. Systems, sales, growth, marketing and full guest support are included.

£10,000 + VAT
Total investment
50/50
Revenue split per booking
£2,500
Joining fee upfront
10 months
Payment spread over
Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in United Kingdom: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Insight into running an Airbnb business in United Kingdom with real-time data on total properties and scheduled cleanings, ensuring smooth operations and guest satisfaction.

What a UK property earns

The calculator below uses Houst booking data from across our UK markets. A two bedroom property averages £195 a night at 71% occupancy, which is around £50,000 in booking revenue over a year. Change the inputs to see what a portfolio of that size returns to you as a partner.

GET A MORE ACCURATE ESTIMATE

Properties in your portfolio

25 properties Typical year 1

Average daily rate

£195

Occupancy

71%

Annual booking revenue managed

Your share, per year

Estimates based on current average daily rates and occupancy in your market. Actual earnings vary by property, area and season.

Houst makes partners look like superheroes

Mansoor runs a hands-off service for the owners he works with, managing the whole process on their behalf while Houst handles guest communication, pricing and operations behind him. In his words, Houst makes us as partners look like superheroes.

FAQ

Can I be a co-host on Airbnb?
Yes. A co-host manages a property on behalf of the owner without owning it, handling messaging, calendar, pricing and cleaning coordination. The owner sets your permissions. Airbnb's own co-host network has performance requirements before you can list publicly, so building a public profile from scratch takes time and completed stays.
Can I be a co-host on Airbnb?
Do co-hosts make money on Airbnb?
Yes, but the model only works at scale. Co-hosts typically earn a percentage of booking revenue, so one or two properties is a side income and twenty is a business. The constraint is operational, not commercial: guest messaging, turnovers and out of hours cover do not scale on their own. Houst partners share commission on every property they run and use our systems and support team to carry the volume.
Do co-hosts make money on Airbnb?
Is rent to rent legal in the UK?
Yes, provided it is done properly. You need explicit written consent from the property owner to sublet, the mortgage lender must permit it, and any required licensing must be in place. Subletting without written permission breaches the tenancy and can trigger eviction or fraud claims. Unlicensed operation carries fines and rent repayment orders that fall on the operator.
Is rent to rent legal in the UK?
How much does it cost to start an Airbnb in the UK?
It depends on the model. Running properties for other people as a co-host or manager needs no property purchase and no furnishing budget. A Houst partnership costs £10,000 plus VAT in total: a £2,500 deposit at signing, a £2,500 set-up fee, then £500 a month across the first ten months. You take a 50/50 share of management commission from day one. That covers training, technology, brand and the owner leads we pass to your territory.
How much does it cost to start an Airbnb in the UK?
What is the most profitable franchise to own in the UK?
There is no single answer, and any franchise claiming to be the most profitable is worth treating carefully. Short-let management franchises appeal because they carry no property purchase and no stock, so the cost base is people and technology rather than premises. What determines the return is how many properties you sign and how well they perform, not the sector itself.
What is the most profitable franchise to own in the UK?